Loading apparatus.



Patented June 4, 1912. 3 SHlBETS-SHEET 1.'-

` /NVEn/To vBy s1 Lk y A TTOHNEY W. H..LINES. .LOADING APPARATUS.APPLICATION FILED DEO. 14, 1911.

` Patented June 4, 191.2.

- s SHEETS-SHEET s.

' WITH/58858.'

WILLIAM H. LINES, 0F ANSONIA, CONNECTICUT.

LOADING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J une 4, 1912.

Application filed December 14, 1911. Serial No. 665,762.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM I-I. LINES, acitizen of the United States, residing at Ansonia, county of New Haven,State of Connecticut, have invented an Improvement in Loading Apparatus,of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide loading apparatus adaptedfor general use and especially adapted for loading lumber upon motor andother trucks. In order to facilitate the rapid handling of stock I mayuse a plurality of racks of special construction and a plurality ofrunning gears of special construction upon which loaded and unloadedracks may be moved about whenever and wherever required for loadingpurposes and from which a loaded rack may be easily and quicklytransferred to a truck and to which an unloaded rack may be transferredfrom a truck.

In the accompanying drawings. forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 is'a side elevation of a rack detached and shown as loaded withlumber; Fig. 2 a plan view of the front end of a rack, unloaded; Fig. .3

an end elevation of the rear end of the rack, that is as seen from` theright in Fig. 1, but unloaded; Fig. l a detail view showing the eye toreceive the king pin; Fig. 5 a side elevation of my novel running gear;Fig. 6 a rear end elevation of the running gear, that is as seen fromthe right in Fig. 5, a rack being indicated thereon by dotted lines;Fig. 7 a detail view illustrating means for securing the rack upon therunning gear; and Fig. 8 is a side elevation illustrating the mode oftransferring a rack from a running gear to a truck or vice versa.

The details of construction of the rack would of course be variedto meetthe requirements of special classes of merchandise to which my novelloading apparatus might be applied. The rack illustrated is speciallyadapted for use in loading lumber. The

extend upward from the inclined reist and K retain the lumber thereonagainst lateral movement, and 16, guides on the base which overlie theedges of a truck platform and act to center the platform in backingunder the running gear, as will be more fully explained. At the frontend of the rack is a swinging retainer which acts to retain lumber orother merchandise upon the rack. This retainer consists of an end crosspiece 17 which may or may not be provided with vertical strips 18. Thesestrips are preferably used upon lumber racks and the ends of boards onthe inclined rest lie against them, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The endpiece is carried by side pieces 19, preferably of metal, the inner endsof which are pivoted on crank shafts 20, which are journaled in thebase, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The crank shafts are provided withoperating arms 21 which in the operative position of the retainer lie incontact with one of the axles, said axle serving as a stop to limittheir movement when swung downward. The retainer is held in operativeposition,

-as in Fig. 1, -by means of spring arms 22V extending from the base uponwhich the side pieces rest, as clearly shown. To throw the retainer outof operative position, the crank shafts are operated by moving arms 21away from the axle, the effect of which is to throw the retainer out ofengagement with the load, aft-er which it is disengaged from spring arms22. The retainer will then swing on the crank shafts and drop downwardwholly out of the way.

The running gear differs from an ordinary wagon gear in that the bedmust be placed relatively high, that is high enough to permit theplatform of an ordinary truck to be backed under it freely, and the rearwheels must be placed far enough apart to permit the rear wheels of atruck to pass between them freely; that is, they must be placedconsiderably farther apart than standard gage. The rear Wheels arecarried by short axles which hangV from the bed, which is indicated by23.

24e denotes the front wheels, 25 the front axle which may or may not beof standard gage, 26 the rear wheels and 27 the rear axles. These axlesare carried by brackets 28 which are secured to the bed and are shown asbacked up by studs 29 which extend downward from the bed. These studsgive the required elevation to the rear en d of.P the bed and theforward end thereof. 1s

raised in any suitable manner, for example-as shown in Figs. 5 and 8. Ifthe running gear is used with a truck that will permit it, I provide apermanent cross brace 5 30 between studs 29. Either with or without thiscross brace I may use a detachable end board 31 which lies between thestuds and braces and strengthens the structure. The end board is shownas connected to the studs by ordinary pin and eye connections, indicatedby 32. This. end board remains in place except when the plat-form of atruck is backed under the bed for the transference of a rack. The rearends of the side pieces of the bed are provided with inclines 33. When arack is upon a truck it is secured thereto by means of a king pin 34which passes through an eye 35 upon t-he end cross piece of the base ofthe rack, indicated specically by 10a, and engages the platform of thetruck (see Figs. 3 and 8). When a rack is in place upon a running gearit is locked thereto by means of one or more hooks 36 which are pivotedon the inner side of a side piece of the bed of the running gear and areadapted to hook over axles 13 on the racks.

37 denotes a truck which may be of any ordinary construction, the solerequirement being that it be provided with a platform,

as 38, adapted to receive a rack from a running gear.

The operation of transferring a rack either loaded or unloaded from atruck to a running gear is as follows: The truck platform is backedunder the rear end ofthe bed of the running gear, as clearly shown inFig. 8. As the truck moves backward under the bed of the running gear,inclines 33 on the bed will pass under the front wheels 12 on the rackand the wheels will ride up the inclines and upon the bed, as clearlyshown. An instant later the rear wheels of the rack will ride up theinclines and upon the bed of the running gear. When the rack is in placeon the running gear it is connected thereto by placing one or more hooks36 upon the running gear in engagement with the axles of the rack, afterwhich the king pin is disengaged from the truck platform and the truckis removed, leaving the rack upon the running gear.

The operation of transferring a rack from a running gearl to a truck isthe reverse'of the operation just described. The platform of the truckis backed under the rear end of the bed of the running gear until it isin position for the king pin toy engage the platform. After the rack hasbeen connected tothe truck by means of the king pin, hooks 36 arevdisengaged from the axles of the rack leaving the rack and runninggearl disconnected. The truck is then moved forward carrying the rackand its contents with it. When a truck is backedunder the bed of arunning gear, guides 16 (see Fig. 3) overlie the edges of the truckplatform and center it as it is backed to place.

AHaving thus described my invent-ion I claim:

1. In a loading apparatus, the combination with a rack having aninclined rest and a base and wheels mounted upon the base, of a runninggear having a bed placed high enough to permit t-he platform of a truckto be backed under it and rear wheels placed at a sufficient distanceapart to permit the rear wheels of a truck to pass between them.

2. In a loading apparatus, the combina`- tion with a rack having aninclined rest provided with transverse rollers, for the purpose setforth, and a base provided with wheels, of a running gear having a bedplaced high enough to permit the platform of a truck to be backed underit and rear wheels placed at a suiicient distance apart to permit therear wheels of a truck to pass between them.

3. In a loading apparatus, the combination with a rack having aninclined rest, a base having wheels mounted thereon and a swingingretainer, for the purpose set forth, of a running gear having a bedplaced high enough to permit the platform of a truck to be backed underit and rear wheels placed at a sufficient distance apart to permit therear wheels of a truck to pass between them.

4. In a loading apparatus, the combination with a rack having aninclined rest, a base having wheels mounted thereon, a swingingretainer, for the purpose set forth, and crank shafts journaled in thebase upon which the retainer is pivoted, rotarymovement of the crankshafts acting to throw the retainer into and out of operative position,of a running gear having a bed placed high enough to permit the platformof a truck to be backed under it and rear wheels placed at a sufficientdistance apart to permit the rear wheels of a truck to pass betweenthem.

5. A Vloadingapparatus of the character described comprising a rackhaving an inclined rest, a base having wheels mounted thereon, aswinging retainer and crank shafts journaled in the base upon which theretainer is pivoted, rotary movement of the crank shaft acting to throwthe retainer into and out of operative position, and a running gearadapted to receive the rack and provided with means for holding the rackthereon.

6. A loading apparatus of the character described, comprising a rackhavingan i1- clined rest, a base having wheels mbunted thereon, aswinging retainer, crank shafts journaled in the base upon which the re-Y from the base upon which the retainer may rest, rotary movement of thecrank shaft acting to throw the retainer into and out of operativeposition and the retainer when disengaged from the spring arms droppingdownward out of the way, and a running gear for the reception of therack and provided with means for holding the rack thereon.

7. A loading apparatus of the character described comprising a runninggear having a base placed relatively high, for the purpose set forth,front wheels and rear wheels journaled at a greater distance apart thanstandard gage, so that a truck may be backed under the bed and betweenthe rear wheels, a rack adapted to be placed on the running gear, andmeans for holding the rack on the running gear.

8. A loading apparatus of the character described comprising a runninggear having a base placed relatively high, for the purpose set forth,rear wheels, axles therefor and brackets for said axles attached to thebed at a greater distance apart than standard gage, so that a truckplatform may be backed under the bed and between the rear wheels, a loadholder adapted to be placed on the running gear, and means for retainingthe holder on the running gear.

9. A loading apparatus comprising a load holder provided with axles,rollers carried by the axles, a running gear for the reception of theholder, and means carried by the running gear for engaging the axles toretain the holder on the running gear.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature inv presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM H. LINES. Witnesses A. M. WoosTER,

S. W. ATHERTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

